User acceptance testing

User acceptance testing is one of the final stages of a software project and will often be performed before a new system is accepted by the customer.

Users of the system will be actively involved in the test procedure and the tests may be based on the User Requirements Specification, which the system should conform to.

A formal test plan will be drawn up and a range of severity levels devised, usually from simple problems (spelling mistakes, cosmetic problems) right through to show stoppers (major problems like the software crashing, software will not run etc.).

Results of such a test procedure will allow both the customers and the developers to be confident that the system will work.